Newark, New Jersey-based McCarter & English has established a bipartisan government relations affiliate based out of Wilmington.
McCarter Government Solutions will be led by Thomas S. Ross, an entrepreneur and former member of the Republican National Committee who focuses on government affairs and project finance; and Brian M.P. McGlinchey, who has a focus on economic development and formerly served as projects director for then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden.
McGlinchey and Ross are not attorneys. They will practice primarily from the law firm’s Wilmington office, assisting both law firm clients with government relations needs as well as other businesses in dealings with elected officials and regulators on legislation and administrative rule-making.
McCarter & English chairman Michael P. Kelly, who is also based in Wilmington, said an effective government relations team has to be able to work on the federal, state and local levels with members of both parties.
“Government touches everything in commerce, and Tom and Brian provide tremendous access to government officials at all levels,” Kelly said in a statement. “That holds true in Delaware, Washington, the Northeast and all over the world. They have substantial experience in the health care, venture capital, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, redevelopment, labor, environmental and energy sectors. Their reach complements our firm’s footprint as to geography, practice areas and industry sectors.”
McCarter & English’s 400-lawyer footprint spans the Northeast region from Boston to Washington, D.C. Ross said they intend the government relations and lobbying work to match that footprint, on both the state and local government level. McCarter & English managing partner Stephen M. Vajtay Jr. said the goal is to focus at the start on the immediate needs of firm clients in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Ross was twice elected as Republican state chairman in Delaware and most recently has served as managing director at Lexden Capital, where he focused on project finance. Ross has also launched several small businesses focused on finance and commercial real estate. He was appointed to the RNC’s ethics committee by Michael Steele, the RNC chairman at the time, and later was involved in the campaign of current RNC chairman Reince Priebus.
McGlinchey, who has been a registered lobbyist since 2002, has spent nearly 25 years in federal, state and local government affairs, with nearly 12 years spent developing economic policies that promote growth in the construction industry throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware and the eastern region of the United States. He is director of the Delaware-based Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, a labor management fund that promotes growth in the construction industry.
McGlinchey is also president of Delawareans for Environmental and Economic Development (DEED), a coalition of labor, civic, environmental and business leaders that promotes policies that expand tax bases, create private sector jobs and protect the environment. He has managed more than 25 campaigns for political candidates, including national experience in the Iowa Caucus. His earliest political experience came as legislative assistant to the Senate Majority Caucus in Delaware’s state capital.